Scott, that wasn't my comment and never would be, because there's no factual basis for it.

Shoot. You're right. That was someone else. Sorry about that. I got your name mixed up with someone else. I don't know how I did that. I'll blame it on having to work so much overtime this week Sorry to bother you and thanks for taking the time to write back to me so quicky with each response!

Scott, that wasn't my comment and never would be, because there's no factual basis for it.

Shoot. You're right. That was someone else. Sorry about that. I got your name mixed up with someone else. I don't know how I did that. I'll blame it on having to work so much overtime this week Sorry to bother you and thanks for taking the time to write back to me so quicky with each response!

That was me, I don't think John uses an external amp. And having heard the wisdom above about how my 110 wpc Denon should sound the exact same as an external amp, I was very skeptical that any improvement would be found in my humble home theater. But I'm curious so I bought a pro amp (QSC GX5) with the full intent of returning it. Contrary to the scientific theory JohnK knows well, in my room, with my speakers, in my brain, it sounds much better on music - better bass punch, and no distortion on the upper end of male vocals and horns.

Perhaps my prized Denon AVR 3300 is broken some how, I don't know. But from my experience, if you want louder, and clearer, and better bass response, try an external amp. For under $500 I found much more enjoyment in the music, you might as well. If not, pack it up and send it back. It's not like buying a car or something - guitar center and others let you return products without hassle.

I remember in high schools when scientist definitively knew that there was nothing smaller than an atom. The math and theory made this clear beyond debate. Then they found sub-atomic particles. Throw out the old text books. Maybe they will find new calculations to explain what so many people hear about the benefits of more power on music. Or maybe its just the pixie dust that comes with the amp! Either way, relax and enjoy the sound the way you like it. (And for the responsive article about the old blind test, note that volume is not a part of the test. My limited experience says that is the key - at lower volumes they sound the same, but once you get past a certain level clipping is a problem - a problem not addressed in the blind testing.)

That's just it. The "all amps sound the same" statement always includes, "when driven below clipping". Louder requires more power, if the amp doesn't have the power to play as loud as you are requesting it will clip.

Trust me Scott (are you by chance the same Scott64 from eSportbike?), once you get the M80's home and hook them up you will completely forget how much you paid for them. Even at $5000 dollars a pair these speakers would be well worth every penny! The QS8's are equally as good a value as the M80's. And they are right, the M80's will keep your bass needs fulfilled quite nicely, expecially with music, so go for the center channel next.

My next bit of advice may draw some flack around here, but IMO Axiom subs are quite expensive, too much so for the average consumer. So myself I wouldn't blame you at all for going with an SVS or similarly lower price/bigger bang unit than having to settle for an EP125. Even dual EP125's are not going to be able to give you as much thump as a competing brand would be able to give you for the money.

I had the money to buy the EP800, and I'm very happy with it. And once my replacement speaker comes I'm sure I will be head-over-heals about it. but in my personal opinion, if you can't afford at least an EP500, I would probably look at other brand options to fill your bass needs. I just honestly think you can spend your money more wisely than with the sub-500 series Axiom subwoofers.

The rest of Axiom's speaker line performs well above their price point though. Just wait until you hear those M80's!

Heck I must've been drunk, I completely forgot you'd already gotten your M80's. Somehow I got sent back to the 1st post in this thread and thought you were asking for advice! Lol, my bad...

So what's up with the M80's? Give us some feedback. I saw that you'd said you were happy with them up until the volume got insane and then decided you could use a subwoofer. No doubt a subwoofer will fill the bottom out better than just the M80's alone, but you have to give them they do put out very respectable bass, no?